The essentials
- Licensing authorityDC Board of Industrial Trades, Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), Occupational and Professional Licensing — official site
- Statewide?Yes — District of Columbia licenses at the state level
- Experience required8,000 hours over at least 4 years as an apprentice plumber for the journeyman license. Alternative paths: a mechanical engineering degree from an accredited institution plus at least 2 years of practical experience verified by a licensed master plumber, comparable experience/education deemed equivalent by the Board, or a certificate from a national certifying organization showing completion of its apprenticeship program and exam. Master requires a valid journeyman license plus at least 4 years working as a journeyman
- ExamPSI — exams are scheduled online at psiexams.com or by phone
- Renewal & CEBiennial — plumber/gasfitter licenses expire March 31 of even-numbered years; continuing education requirement — verify with the board
- Bond / insuranceNot published in a form we could verify — confirm with the board
- ReciprocityNone we could confirm
License classes in District of Columbia
District of Columbia issues the following classes. Getting the class right matters — several states have residential-only or limited-scope licenses that will not cover commercial or multifamily work:
- Apprentice Plumber — registered without examination, must work under the direct supervision of a licensed master plumber/gasfitter
- Journeyman Plumber — journey-level plumbing license
- Journeyman Gasfitter — journey-level gas fitting license
- Master Plumber — may supervise apprentices and qualify work
- Master Gasfitter — master-level gas fitting
Experience and training
8,000 hours over at least 4 years as an apprentice plumber for the journeyman license. Alternative paths: a mechanical engineering degree from an accredited institution plus at least 2 years of practical experience verified by a licensed master plumber, comparable experience/education deemed equivalent by the Board, or a certificate from a national certifying organization showing completion of its apprenticeship program and exam. Master requires a valid journeyman license plus at least 4 years working as a journeyman
One thing worth knowing regardless of state: the hours only count if they were logged properly at the time. Several boards require you to register as an apprentice before the clock starts, and hours worked while unregistered are simply gone. If you are early in the trade, get the registration paperwork right now rather than reconstructing it four years later.
The exam
PSI — exams are scheduled online at psiexams.com or by phone
Renewal and continuing education
Biennial — plumber/gasfitter licenses expire March 31 of even-numbered years; continuing education requirement — verify with the board
Letting a license lapse is more expensive than it looks. Some states allow a short grace period with a penalty fee; others treat a lapsed license as forfeited and make you retest from scratch. Put the renewal date in your calendar with a 90-day warning, not a 7-day one.
Insurance and bonding
We could not verify a published state bond or insurance minimum for District of Columbia. That does not mean you should work uninsured — local permit offices, general contractors and property managers routinely require a certificate regardless of what the state demands.
Separately from whatever the state requires: Pipe Well requires every plumber on the network to carry current general liability insurance and to upload the certificate before the first appointment is sent.
Working across state lines
We could not confirm any published reciprocity agreement for District of Columbia. That does not always mean there is none — several states evaluate out-of-state licenses case by case, or let you sit for the exam on the strength of a license held elsewhere. If you are relocating, call the board and ask specifically about endorsement or credential review rather than assuming you start over.
What plumbers actually get wrong here
DC licenses plumbing and gas fitting as parallel tracks, so a plumber doing gas work generally needs the gasfitter credential too. Applications run through a free Access DC account and require a passport-style photo, government ID, a certificate of completion, and an employment verification letter before you can be approved to test.
Once you are licensed: getting the work
A license gets you legal. It does not get you a full schedule. The usual next step is buying leads — $40 to $85 for a contact that three or four other shops bought at the same moment, which at a realistic 10–20% close rate works out to somewhere between $300 and $1,000 for every job you actually book, plus the unpaid hours spent chasing the ones that go nowhere.
Pipe Well works the other way round. We book appointments, not leads, and we handle everything up to the moment you knock on the door: the advertising, the phone call, qualifying the job, getting the address and access details, and agreeing a date and time window with the homeowner. What reaches your phone is a scheduled appointment — name, address, time window and what is wrong. You reply YES and it is yours.
What it costs
Nothing to join. No subscription, no per-lead charge. You do the job, you set your own price, and you collect payment from the customer directly. Then Pipe Well is paid 50% of the job after your documented materials come off the top:
(amount collected − documented materials) × 50%
| Collected | Materials | Net | Pipe Well | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $400 | $40 | $360 | $180 | $220 |
| $1,200 | $520 | $680 | $340 | $860 |
| $2,800 | $800 | $2,000 | $1,000 | $1,800 |
| $8,500 | $3,200 | $5,300 | $2,650 | $5,850 |
Due within 48 hours of the customer paying you. If they never pay, you owe nothing. And look honestly at that last row — on a big repipe our share is a large number. If your book is already full of $8,500 jobs you are better off filling that capacity yourself. We are worth most to a shop with open capacity it cannot currently fill.
Apply free → Run your own numbersQuestions plumbers ask about licensing in District of Columbia
Do you need a license to do plumbing work in District of Columbia?
Yes. DC Board of Industrial Trades, Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), Occupational and Professional Licensing is the licensing authority for District of Columbia. DC licenses plumbing and gas fitting as parallel tracks, so a plumber doing gas work generally needs the gasfitter credential too. Applications run through a free Access DC account and require a passport-style photo, government ID, a certificate of completion, and an employment verification letter before you can be approved to test.
Who issues the plumbing license in District of Columbia?
DC Board of Industrial Trades, Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), Occupational and Professional Licensing. The official site is https://dlcp.dc.gov/page/boardofindustrialtrades.
What license classes exist in District of Columbia?
Apprentice Plumber — registered without examination, must work under the direct supervision of a licensed master plumber/gasfitter. Journeyman Plumber — journey-level plumbing license. Journeyman Gasfitter — journey-level gas fitting license. Master Plumber — may supervise apprentices and qualify work. Master Gasfitter — master-level gas fitting.
How many hours of experience do you need for a District of Columbia plumbing license?
8,000 hours over at least 4 years as an apprentice plumber for the journeyman license. Alternative paths: a mechanical engineering degree from an accredited institution plus at least 2 years of practical experience verified by a licensed master plumber, comparable experience/education deemed equivalent by the Board, or a certificate from a national certifying organization showing completion of its apprenticeship program and exam. Master requires a valid journeyman license plus at least 4 years working as a journeyman
Who administers the District of Columbia plumbing exam?
PSI — exams are scheduled online at psiexams.com or by phone
How often does a District of Columbia plumbing license renew?
Biennial — plumber/gasfitter licenses expire March 31 of even-numbered years; continuing education requirement — verify with the board
Can I get booked plumbing appointments in District of Columbia once I am licensed?
Yes. Pipe Well Plumbing books customer appointments in District of Columbia and texts them to licensed plumbers whose service radius covers the address. Joining is free — no subscription and no per-lead fee. Pipe Well is paid 50% of the job after your documented material costs are deducted, and only after the customer has paid you.
Booked appointments in District of Columbia
Set your ZIP and a service radius of at least 30 miles and we will match appointments inside it. Free to join.
Join Free → Plumbing jobs in District of ColumbiaPlumbing license requirements in other states
Compiled from DC Board of Industrial Trades, Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), Occupational and Professional Licensing published materials, last reviewed July 2026. Where a figure could not be verified against a primary source we have said so rather than estimate it. Spotted something out of date? Email info@pipewellplumbing.com and we will correct it.